Fallout 4: Here’s How To Leave the Institute
The Institute is one of the most hated factions in Fallout 4, but no matter your view on their “work,” we must admit that they have some pretty sweet high-tech living accommodations. The only problem is that once we travel to the Institute headquarters for the first time, it seems like we can’t leave. There’s no obvious way out, as we’re talking about a place with an underground bunker serving as its headquarters. Due to that, we’ve decided to put together this guide for the new players to see how to leave the Institute.
Joining Institute
You must visit them to complete the main story regardless of your thoughts on this infamous faction. The institute’s leader, the Father, is one of the most important characters in the game and has a personal connection to the Sole Survivor.
Now, you don’t necessarily have to join the Institute to gain the fast travel feature as it becomes available relatively early in the game, and you will get a chance to betray them later in the game. The first time you visit the Institute, it will be via a homemade teleporter that you’ve helped to craft by retrieving the parts. This is done during the quest The Molecular Level, part of the Fallout 4 main story.
You will be asked to find a serum in Virgil’s old laboratory inside the Institute to cure his FEV affliction and turn him into a human once again. To build the teleporter that can reach the Institute’s hideout, you will have to employ the help of one of the three remaining factions the Minutemen, the Brotherhood of Steel, or the Railroad.
How do I leave the Institute for the first time?
During the quest Institutionalized, you will be asked to learn more about the Institute itself, and you will be sent to interact with several department heads who work under the Institute. The department heads that you need to meet are Clayton Holdren, Allie Filmore, Justin Ayo, and Madison Li. Institutionalized quest allows you to continue working with the Institute or destroy it from within, depending on your choice. You will have two options when it comes to leaving the Institute.
Leaving Institute if you decide to work with them
This option allows you to move between the Institute and other locations in the world relatively easily. You can unlock this feature by following these steps:
- During the quest Institutionalized, speak to department heads Clayton Holdren, Allie Filmore, Justin Ayo, and Madison Li.
- Madison Li installs a courser chip in your pip-boy. This gives you the feature to fast travel in and out of the Institute with ease and also completes the quest Institutionalized which is then followed by two other quests depending on your choice Banished from the Institute or Synth Retention.
Leaving the Institute if you decide to banish them
Alternatively, you can decide not to play along with the Institute’s wishes. In that case, your courser chip will not be activated, and you will have to leave the Institute via alternative means. To do that, follow these steps:
- After you talk to the department heads, you can attack the Institute to start the quest “Banished from the Institute.”
- To exit the Institute after you’ve dealt damage to the Institute’s personnel, you have to use the central elevator and make your way to the relay room.
- You will have to activate the emergency relay. You can do that by pressing the bright red emergency relay button on the side of the main console.
- Walk into the relay room and wait for the countdown to begin.
Keep in mind that leaving the Institute this way means that all your active Institute quests will fail simultaneously, and you will not be able to “re-join” the Institute in the future. You will likewise lose all ability to teleport to the Institute via any means save for the console commands.
Why can’t I fast-travel from the Institute?
You can’t fast-travel from the Institute because you most likely haven’t finished the institutionalized quest. The institute is very specific regarding reaching them, and their headquarters are unavailable to you at any point in the game, like most other locations. A special order of quests needs to be done beforehand before you can reap the benefits of fast-traveling to and from the Institute.
Can you join the Institute and then betray them?
You can join the Institute for the moment and betray them later on. You can leak the information about the Institute’s affairs to the other factions and effectively betray your son and the Institute. In any case, once you’re an enemy of the Institute, you will lose access to their headquarters and any perk this faction has awarded you. This is nothing new, as other factions also have these rules in place.
As you can see, to gain free access to fast-traveling to and from the Institute, you will have to work with the Institute for a time. If you decide to betray them from the start, you will have no need to acquire Institute fast traveling since you will be banned from the headquarters forever.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!
